Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring … Paperphone?

Oh, stop whining, if you’re on the Internet, you’ve been inoculated against Raffi by now. Now pay attention, snap bracelets have become sentient.
Not really, but that’s one of the form factors that Queen’s University and Arizona State University want to apply to their new paperphone.
The term “paperphone” is a bit misleading: it’s an e-ink smartphone, so really it’s a “laminated sheet phone”. It does all the stuff the phone currently in your pocket does: play music, play games, store ebooks, drop calls, delete your text messages before you can read them, stuff like that.
The really neat thing is that it’s designed with bend sensors, so as you bend the sheet, it does different things. You bend the corner to turn the page, fold the paper into a curve to turn it into a phone, and so on. It even has a Wacom tablet incorporated, meaning you can write on it.
Unfortunately, they seriously expect you to wear this thing on your arm. Which means you’ll look like a total dork-rocket. Check out the tech on the next slide.

One thing I would like answered: how is bending a piece of plastic easier than, say, the current system of poking something with your finger?
[ via the folksingers at Gizmag ]